Tomorrow it will be 5 weeks since my ankle surgery. The last 5 weeks have been alot of ups and downs. Most of the downs have come when I've tried to push myself too hard.
It took 4 weeks for me to be able to point my big toe. It's amazing how that simple act can be taken for granted. As I was showing off my new skill, I quickly started experiencing cramps in my foot. The best way I can explain the cramps is to say it felt like pointe shoe (toe shoe) cramps. Now, I just gotta work on flexing my foot. I can easily flex my toes, but my calf and Achilles are way too tight for me to flex my ankle.
I am still attending physical therapy 3 times a week. There, I have started weight shifting exercises. I stand on a thick, squishy mat while I shift my weight back and forth from my left foot to my right. Going side to side is easy. But when I shift with one foot forward and the other back, it's a little more difficult. When my right foot is in back, I have balance issues. When my right foot is in front, it feels like there is something blocking the movement in my ankle joint. Yesterday, during the exercises, something in my ankle shifted. I hoped that would resolve the flexing issues, but it didn't. For days, my ankle has felt like it needs to pop. It's the sensation that things are locked up, and if it would just pop, it would feel better. But, I am not about to attempt to pop it. I just have to wait and hope it pops on its own. And that it doesn't hurt when it does.
I am also experiencing weird nerve issues from the nerve block during surgery. The area between my big toe and second toe is still numb. And I still have the pins and needles issues in my toes. The pins and needles really are only an issue at bedtime. But at bedtime, I also experience other sensations. Nails being driven into my big toe, fire hot lines across all my toes, bugs crawling around my ankle, tingling all over my foot, and pains near the incision sight, but not at the incision sight. I've also noticed that I can tap on one area of my foot and cause tingling in another part. I've been told that some of this is normal, but I should definitely mention it to my doctor when I see him next week.
Starting yesterday, I am encouraged by the physical therapist to walk with one crutch when I am in the house, and two crutches outside. I like this, because it gives me a hand to do things. I hope Dr. Sands is not upset. He gave very strict instructions about partial weight bearing. I have a nice list of things to ask him. Can I drive? (Please, please, please). How does my incision look? (The steri-strips are falling off, but the scab looks really wide. I can't turn my ankle to get a good look at it.) Is the incision healed enough for me to be able to soak my ankle? What can I do about the nerve issues in my ankle (it's had to go to sleep when your toes feel like they're on fire.) Can I chaperon my daughter's choir trip to a contest, then to Schliterbahn?
Something else I learned yesterday, these 4 weeks of physical therapy is just the first session of physical therapy. I still have a few weeks before I can begin turning my foot in and out or twisting. Before I can start any of that, I have to master moving it up and down.
I still have a long way to go, but I am making steady process.
On another note, I have been off of cymbalta for 4 weeks. I have not noticed any of the withdrawal symptoms for over a week. That is wonderful. One issue I have had with the change in meds is that cymbalta has a side effect of drowsiness, while Wellbutrin has a side effect of insomnia. Because I have had problems with insomnia for about 20 years, this hits me harder than it might hit someone else. That is starting to get better, but as I'm walking more, I'm having issues with my low back. Some of this has been bad enough to wake me in the middle of the night. I've had to start taking my pain meds again; not as much for my ankle, but also for my back. Thankfully, I only have to take it at bed time.
As I have mentioned before, I remember alot more of my surgery that I'm supposed to. I learned yesterday that that can be a side effect of taking ambien; even though I haven't taken it in months.
